There are a wide variety of objects which employ a handle to facilitate their use. These include kitchen tools, such as pots, pans, spoons, forks, mashers, spatulas, knives, tongs, and the like; hardware tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, drills, wrenches and the like; yard tools such as spades, rakes, shovels and the like; and sporting equipment such as golf clubs, tennis rackets, fishing rods, baseball bats and the like.
In the use of many of these objects, there is experienced by the user at least some degree of discomfort, and in some instances the handles are required to withstand relatively high forces due to impact with another surface. It has long been sought in the art to provide a handle which is comfortable and which is capable of reducing the shock or impact which is transmitted to the user via the handle during use and/or the fatigue associated by gripping such a device for extended period of time.
Exemplary of devices which have attempted to provide improved handles are shown in Uke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,804 (elongate single sheet of elastomeric material); Stowell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,286 (concave depression having array of spaced, flexible fins); Nesbitt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,859 (grip formed from hard and soft layer molded together); Kelsay, U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,941 (plastic molded trowel handle having fingerguard and palm grip); Mencarelli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,360 (replaceable cushioned contoured gripping device); Stanish, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,130 (ergonomic handle); Blessing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,535 (ergonomic handle); and Graj et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,960 (ergonomic cookware); among others.
None of the devices of the prior art however provide an improved compressible handle which provides both an extremely comfortable feel and significantly reduces the amount of shock or fatigue felt by the user.
Surprisingly, the device of the present invention provides significant improvements in the areas of comfort and reduction of shock and fatigue felt by the user. Broadly, the improved handle of the present invention comprises a handle shaft which comprises a resilient member, the resilient member comprised of a first layer of an elastomeric material and a second layer of elastomeric material to form therebetween an air pocket.